if you give us the tiniest opening. we have a lot to cover this morning including new signs of the efforts to stop chuck hague frl becoming secretary of defense are losing steam. comments by john mccain suggest he's on a glide path to confirmation and president obama hits the road taking his gun control message to the heartland. the question is will that create enough meaningful pressure for reform? that's straight ahead. we begin with new revelations involving u.s. drone strikes program and the obama administration's legal justification behind the use of such efforts against al qaeda suspects. a new 16-page memo copy of which was obtained by nbc news offers fresh insights into this controversial practice including the killing of american citizens overseas if they're believed to be senior operational leaders of al qaeda or an associated force. even if there's no intelligence indicating they're engaged in an active plot to attack the united states. such a strike, of course, took place in yemen in september

2011 killing two operatives. both of them were american citizens who hadn't been indicted by the u.s. government or charged with any crimes. in the past, attorney general eric holder has spoken publicly about the administration's three main pcriteria for justifying a legal strike against a u.s. citizen overseas. they must pose an imminent threat of violent attack, capture is infeasible and the operation must be squint law of war principles. but this newly obtained memo elaborates further. i states u.s. officials may consider whether an attempted capture would cause undue risk to u.s. personnel involved. the memo says if capture is not feasible, it will be lawful for the u.s. government to order a killing instead. all of this controversy comes ahead of a senate confirmation hearing on thursday for john brennan. he is nominated to be the new cia director. he is considered the architect of the obama administration's

drone campaign. this is a big deal laying out a lot of new facts related to this controversial program and nbc's michael isikoff is going to join us later on "morning joe." after spending months focused on federal spending and deficit reduction, to day house majority leader eric cantor plans to urge his republican party to take its message in a new direction. in what's being described as a major policy speech one week before the president's state of the union address, kantor wcant to rollout a new agenda that puts emphasis on how the government can help american families in their daily lives. expected to touch on new and existing republican education initiatives, the need to simplify the tax code sh ways to curb rising health care costs and the hot issue of immigration reform. in a prespeech excerpt, he is quote the as saying, "government policy should aim to strike a balance between what is needed to aadvance the next generation, what we can afford, what is a

federal responsibility, and what is necessary to ensure our children are safe, healthy, and able to reach their dreams." this is going to be closely watched because it represents a rebranding of the party and the conservative philosophy away from what has been touched on over republicanism and conservatism for a long time since ronald reagan's famous line from his 1981 inauguration. >> government is not the solution to our problem. government is the problem. >> we're going to talk to congressman cantor about the whats and whys on msnbc on "morning joe." other members of this party are taking the white house to task for failing once again to deliver a budget this time for the 2014 fiscal year on time. the obama administration claims it missed the february 4th deadline because of uncertainty caused by the fiscal cliff talks, house republicans though are blaming it on a lack of leadership in the oval office.

>> president obama missed a great opportunity today to help our economy. this was supposed to be the day that the president submitted his budget to the congress. but it's not coming. it's going to be late. and some reports say that it could be as long as a month late. i think that's too bad. our economy could use some presidential leadership right now. >> all right, not just speaker boehner had the budget committee chairman, paul ryan says he's disappointed but not surprised. he notes the president has failed to submit his budget on time now in four out of the last five years. the white house hasn't been willing to say so far when the budgets will come out. tomorrow the house is going to vote on a bill that calls on the president to present a plan that will ultimately balance the budget. president obama's pressing forward on two other issues he put front and center so far. immigration reform and gun control. today the president's going to meet at the white house for progressive and labor leaders and then separately he's going to get together with a dozen

ceos including goldman sachs loyal blankfine and alyssa mier to discuss immigration reform and how it fits into the economic agenda. building business support is very key for the administration as they try to build a coalition around immigration. on gun control, the president continued his push for universal background checks on monday calling them common sense that should receive bipartisan support. however, instead of trying to convince members of congress directly, he is taking the message on the road monday to indianapolis -- or minneapolis, rather, hoping to apply pressure by leveraging public opinion. >> we may not be able to prevent every massacre or random shooting. no law or set of laws can keep our children completely safe. but if there's even one thing we can do, if there's one life we can save, we've got an obl ga s obligation to try.

we don't have to agree on everything to agree it's time to do something. that's -- that's my main message here today. to keep the pressure on your member of congress to do the right thing. tell them there's no legislation to eliminate all guns. there's to legislation being proposed to subvert the second amendment. tell them specifically what we're talking about. tell them now is the time for action. we're not going to wait until the next new town or next aurora. >> folk us is on the president and senate but now what might be the first sign of compromise in the house of representatives, two democrats and two republicans there plan to unveil legislation that would make gun trafficking a federal crime. "washington post" reports the bill would impose new penalties against so-called straw purchasers, people who buy guns for others who are barred from buying guns themselves or owning weapons. john kerry is kicking off his first week at the state

department. the new cabinet secretary was welcomed by loud careers from staffers yesterday. he praised hillary clinton's achievement ands he also eluded to her republican predecessor condoleezza rice. >> here's the big question before the country of the world and the state department after the last eight years. can a man actually run the state department? i don't know. as the saying goes, i have big heels to fill. >> all right. as for kerry's former senate seat in massachusetts, another name was crossed off the list of some potential republican contenders in the upcoming special election. tag romney says he's not interested in the job. that is mitt romney's oldest son who told supporters he's humbled by the outreach but says timing is not right for him. he didn't rule out seeking

office in the future. tagg romney, another one of the high profile republicans to drop out of the running for kerry's seat. former senator scott brown, bill weld and former lieutenant governor of massachusetts terry heely have all announced they're not going to run. that means so far only two democrats, congressman ed marky and steve lynch have said they're going to make a bid for kerry's seat in the special election. despite a grueling confirmation hearing, the chances of chuck hagel becoming secretary of defense are greater than 24 hours ago because john mccain and three other colleagues of his indicated they would oppose the use of a filibuster to try to block the nomination, rejecting an idea floated over the weekend by senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and others. move by mccain and others now suggest hagel is going to have enough support to be confirm. the nomination is expected to go to the full senate floor this thursday. last night in the book touring supreme court justice

sonia sotomayor made a rare television appearance. she was on the colbert report. she talked about her childhood in the bronx, faith in the constitution, but she got a little bit coy when stephen tried to draw her into specifics. >> not all of us believe in the constitution. the second amendment is never to be questioned. do you believe that we have the right to have any weapon we want? >> well, you'll find out soon enough when the case comes up. >> this is what i like. this is what i like. >> all right. stick around. we're going to take a quick break. while we do, send us an e-mail and let us know why you're awake at this hour. you can also tweet me. we'll read the best responses later in the show. still ahead here, stadium blackouts, they're not just for football anymore. last night the lights went out during an nba game. we'll have that next in sports. later on, more of governor christy taking on his toughest critic david letterman appearing on the couch on laid night. and we'll also get a check on

the weather when "way too early" comes right back right here on msnbc. >> i can't do with two hands but i'm going to try an old sand trap shot here. miles and miles and miles. ♪ alright, let's go.

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i'm here to pick up some cacti. it should be under stephens. the verizon share everything plan for small business. get a shareable pool of data... got enough joshua trees? ... on up to 25 devices. so you can spend less time... yea, the golden barrels... managing wireless costs and technology and more time driving your business potential. looks like we're going to need to order more agaves... ah! oh! ow! ... and more bandages. that's powerful. shareable data plus unlimited talk and text. now save $50 on a droid razr maxx hd by motorola. all right. you're looking live, nothing more beautiful than a branch sill bombized by our nation aeg capitol. all right, we're going to get a quick check on the weather now from nbc superstar meteorologist bill karins. williams? >> i'm very excited to know what gift you got me today. >> because it being -- >> it's national weather

person's day. >> all my gifts for willard. >> hey, willard deserves them. >> i know his size. >> do you? >> yeah. >> do you want to go further? >> i just know what he likes. >> okay. willard is a great guy. good morning, everyone. we have snow to talk about. not a lot. really quiet tuesday, actually. rain down along the gulf coast. noernlg florida, snow showers in wisconsin. and a little coating of light snow. areas around new york city. it's nothing that's causing anyone too many problems on the roads. there's a little burst out on 78 and 80 going across jersey. a little picking up as far as intensi intensity. again, most of the roads have been salted because of the past days. they should be for the most part just wet. also, it's very cold in northern new england today. our friends if maine through new hampshire and that minus 18 is in saranac lake, new york, one of the coldest spots in the entire country early today. that is the northern adirondaks. much of the country is turning the corner now. we're going to warm things up.

look at the beautiful weather. temperatures in the 60s in the southeast today. 60s in texas. san antonio, near 80 almost. denver near 60. kansas city, up to 51. it looks like our har are cold winter is starting to wayne a little bit. >> you know, our men are obsessed with denver temperatures. >> crazy. >> all right. now sports, rather sports and infrastructure. documents released yesterday show that there were concerns about a power outage in the super dome as early as last fall. a memo from louisiana stadium district on october 15th warned that stadium's electrical feeders had some decay and a chance of failure. that's not g the company that supplies the super dome with power as well as the engineering staff expressed concerns about the electrical connection. the super dome's board did address these reports, i guess, spending more than $600 grand to upgrade the electrical system which did not solve the problem. still, the blackout did not keep

the super bowl from being the third most watched program in television history. over 108 million viewers. that puts it behind two other super bowels. the investigation is still on going but super energy say that beyonce was considered a us is speck in the power outage is off the hook. there are confirmed reports she brought her own generator with her for that big halftime show. there may be something going around. there was yet another blackout last night. this time at an nba game. the utah jazz, the sacramento kings saw the start of their game delayed monday after the lights dimmed and had to be reset at salt lake city's ironically named energy solutions arena. yes. no solutions here. the lights did come back on in this case after just three minutes. with all the bows surrounding the blackout, joe flacco may be the least talked about mvp in super bowl history.

last night though the ravens quarterback rather going to disney world went to manhattan. he cape here muppets style for an appearance on the late show with dave letterman. the talk quickly turned to his on going contract negotiations. >> this is a contract negotiation and before the game what did your owner say to you about the game and the hopeful outcome? >> well, you know, i actually only talked to him a little bit before this game. before the new england game, he said this is our time. go get them. we have all the faith in you. you know, this is going to be your team for a long time. >> and when we're all done, you come into my office and you can beat me up all you want. >> exactly. >> you can get me down on all fours and grab my wallet. >> that was earlier in the year when i wasn't signing what they want md tow sign. when the time comes, can you come and beat on my desk. and i said all right, i'll take you up on. that i think the time has come. >> i think the time has come, indeed. good for you. >> all right. flack yes after that big win

expected to get a new contract from the ravens worth about $20 million. national signing day kicks off tomorrow. but that didn't stop one top prospect from making a curious decision a day earlier. ruben foster, he is the top middle line backer in the whole nation, he's committed now to alabama. last night he made that decision not surprising at all, he's from the state. but take a look here at the tattoo on foster's forearm, that, of course, the logo of auburn. he previously committed to auburn and then got that tattoo before he switched his allegiance to the crimson tide. i'm sure there is a very fine tattoo removal service he'll be seeking at siftance of. coming up on the top of the hour on "morning joe," nbc obtained a government memo that has the justification for killing americans oversea who's have us is speck inspecsuspecte

groups. we'll discuss that. when we come back here though, we're going to huddle around the water cooler where will farrell proves yet again you don't need to break the budget to make a big splash in super bowl ads. lewis will explain that when we come right back.

all right. real news, we're going to gather around the water cooler hoor with lewis for something i call maybe news-like. what you got? >> it is so good to be here with you this morning. let me just tell you. i love it. every day i get up and see your smiling face. all right. >> you're like andy ricter. >> as we saw at the top of the show, chris christie was on the late show last night. everyone is wondering if it would be awkward if his weight works into his standup routine. letterman asked the governor if the jokes offended him. take a look. >> is it an issue or is it not an issue? and, you tell me how you see things. >> i don't care if you're funny. i mean from my perspective if, the joke is funny, i laugh. even if it's about me. if it's not funny, i don't

laugh. but i've never felt like it was, you know, anything that really bugged me all that much, no. >> now what percentage of the jokes have you found funny? >> about 40%. roughly. >> that will get new the hall of fame. >> here's two of them that we like. first one is celebrity birthday todayment chris christie turned 50. he blew out the kanld lz on his cake and wished for another cake. and this one i thought -- i don't know if this is one of the best ones, i think it is topical given what went on yesterday. a billion dollars will be spent on potato chips for super bowl sunday and that's just at governor christie's house. >> i have to love governor christie. >> timing, very important in comedy. >> very important. now yesterday we talked about our favorite super bowl ad that i was extremely disappointed we didn't get to the godaddy ad. john you toer in the control room found me a better ad. it never actually aired during

the game. now you remember these will farrell old milwaukee beer ads? some aired in small nebraska markets. this year he filmed another ad for the beer company. you only get to see it if you live in texas, oklahoma, and montana. take a look. ♪ >> there is no dialogue, no script, just a man and his

mustache. low production value. doesn't matter, it works. >> it's good. >> we were talking about the godaddy ad. jon stewart has a different take on ad. let's take a look at that. >> it might be the most controversial ad, this ad from godaddy called perfect match where a super mall locks lips with a geeky looking engineer. >> oh, really? that ad is controversial because she is kissing a jew. it's so disgusting to kiss a jew. is that it? what's that? i'm being told that's not why people is upset. affection should only take place between looks equals. well, he's not attractive enough to kiss -- aahh! by the way, how is this objectable? but everybody was perfectly fine with the ad about the guy clearly [ beep ]

his horse. >> i heard that it took 48 to 50 takes to get that kiss exactly right. >> urban legend, dude. mikey was killed by pop rocks also. >> if i was that kid, i would do as many takes as possible. very lucky man. >> lewis, thank you. >> still ahead on "way too early," why you're awake. your lip lock, tweets, e-mails and texts are next. "morning joe" is now just moments away. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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we asked the you question why you are awake? john tower has an answer. john? >> pat, our 15 pound dog will not stop biting my ankles. "way too early" is a step up from this. andrew writes, hope to see why halpern who is writing on a book has time to host a show. >> watch carefully when lewis is talking, i'm doing other things including working a little bit on the book. john, thank you for that. thanks for watching. "morning joe" begins right this very moment.